Ethnic Norms and Interethnic Violence
Accounting for Mass Participation in the Rwandan Genocide
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3916158 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ravi Bhavnani (0000-0001-6501-5682, Michigan State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 651-669 |
| Publication date | 2006-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343306069290 |
| OpenAlex | W2162222848 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 30 |
| References cited | 34 |
This article specifies a simple mechanism - a behavioral norm defined in ethnic terms - to understand the dynamics of mass participation by reluctant Hutu in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The mechanism, which has not been analyzed systematically in the scholarly literature, is specified using an agent-based model of within-group interaction that captures the role of intra-Hutu coercion in precipitating genocidal violence, yet is general enough to be applied to other group conflicts and contexts. The model highlights the role of individual heterogeneity, within-group punishment, behavioral adaptation, group networks, and ethnic entrepreneurs, and generates a set of results on norm formation and change, a number of which are not intuitive. These findings suggest that (1) norms are not equally likely to form in groups with similar aggregate preference; (2) a violence-promoting norm can emerge in a group dominated by moderates, and violence is not the inevitable outcome in a group dominated by extremists; (3) strong punishments are a prerequisite for the emergence of norms that promote interethnic violence or cooperation; (4) interaction patterns matter - for example, the segregation of an ethnic group clearly inhibits norm formation; and (5) an ethnic entrepreneur can effectively amplify norm formation within a group in the absence of strong punishment
Coercion (linguistics) · Criminology · Ethnic conflict · Ethnic group · Genocide · Norm (philosophy) · Political science · Punishment (psychology) · Sociology · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology
Unpacking the Mind of Evil
Discursive and Processual Socialization of the Mass into Acts of Violence
Civil conflict and its causes
Civil conflict and its causes
Ethnic Cleansing, History of
The Complexity of Evil
After Violence
The geography of military occupation and its effect on Palestinian community cohesion, norms, and resistance motivation
Does Type of Violence Matter for Interventions to Mitigate Mass Atrocities
Benevolence and Negative Deviant Behavior in Africa
Genocide as Contentious Politics
The ICC and the Prevention of Atrocities
In error we trust
The Escalation of Ethnonationalist Radicalization
Promises and Pitfalls in the Spatial Prediction of Ethnic Violence
Estimating Impact
Ideology and Mass Killing
Motivational change in the perpetration of genocidal violence
National unity and reconciliation in Rwanda
Bound by blood and bloodshed
A Macro-Micro Integrated Theoretical Model of Mass Participation in Genocide
Killing like a state
Cleansing the Caliphate
Violence and Ethnic Segregation
Combatant Fragmentation and the Dynamics of Civil Wars
How Radio Affects Violent Conflict
Permission, obedience, and continuities
Toward a Dynamic Theory of Action at the Micro Level of Genocide
Causality and History
Learning from the Past
Slaughterhouse
Hitler's willing executioners
Becoming Evil
When Victims Become Killers
Emergence From Chaos to Order
Ethnic Norms And Their Transformation Through Reputational Cascades
Leave none to tell the story
Rewards and Punishments
The Psychological Impact of Rape
Theft of an Idol
Aiding Violence
Understanding Ethnic Violence
Provoking genocide
How many perpetrators were there in the Rwandan genocide? An estimate
Ethnic Nationalism and International Conflict
The Rwandan crisis 1959–1994
The Colors of Violence
The Order of Genocide
The Roots of Evil
Rewards and Punishments as Selective Incentives
Localized Ethnic Conflict and Genocide
Disconnecting the threads
Social Norms and Economic Theory
Collective Violence and Group Solidarity
Machetes and Firearms
Why Did You Kill
Explaining Interethnic Cooperation
An Evolutionary Approach to Norms
Understanding Genocide
The Psychological Impact of Impunity
Revolutionary and Antirevolutionary Genocides
| Unique citing works | 30 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,67 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2026 (19) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 26 |